Help with old canoe ID
- Thread starter NaturalPath
- Start date
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
More pictures would help-- over-all profile, deck, a closer look at the interior... thanks.
Kathy
Kathy
NaturalPath
Curious about Wooden Canoes
Thanks for the reply Kathryn. My brother has promised more pics this evening, when he returns home from work. We have both suspected that this is some kind of Chestnut canoe. My brother did take some measurements last night and I believe he said that it was 33" wide and 12" deep, and 16ft long, which would mean that it's not the Prospector, which we thought it might be, at first. He did also get some history from the seller. This canoe has apparently been with the one family through at least a couple of generations. Anyway, I'll post more pics as soon as I receive them. Thanks again.
MGC
Scrapmaker
Even from the single picture it's pretty certain (to me) that it's a peternut of some sort. There are several sites that post significant dimensions from the various models. You should be able to narrow the model down without too much effort.
The Dragonfly site offers some very specific details that you can use to pin down your boat model.
http://dragonflycanoe.com/wood-canoe-identification-guide/
Keep in mind that the peternuts have a tendency to stray somewhat from specs. Don't expect the boat to be an exact match.
Unlike Old Town, Kennebec, there are no serialization records that will help you to identify the build date, model etc.
The Dragonfly site offers some very specific details that you can use to pin down your boat model.
http://dragonflycanoe.com/wood-canoe-identification-guide/
Keep in mind that the peternuts have a tendency to stray somewhat from specs. Don't expect the boat to be an exact match.
Unlike Old Town, Kennebec, there are no serialization records that will help you to identify the build date, model etc.
NaturalPath
Curious about Wooden Canoes
Thanks for the info Paddlephile. I'll be honest, I've never even heard of Peternut canoes, so this certainly comes as a surprise to me. I guess I need to do some more research on Peternut, and see what I can find. Nevertheless, we will provide some more pics soon, just so that we can try to pin down the exact make and model, and perhaps the year, if that is possible.
Dan Lindberg
Ex Wood Hoarder
Peterborough + Chestnut = Peternut
For some number of years they were the same except for the decal.
Dan
For some number of years they were the same except for the decal.
Dan
NaturalPath
Curious about Wooden Canoes
Thanks for the clarification on that Dan, makes sense now. 
NaturalPath
Curious about Wooden Canoes
Okay, so I now have some much better pictures of the canoe in question. Here they are;
NaturalPath
Curious about Wooden Canoes
More pics;
NaturalPath
Curious about Wooden Canoes
I guess the reply from Paddlefile is about a close as we're going to get on identifying this particular canoe. I did post some more detailed pics but I understand that it may be impossible to determine exact models and dates. My brother has since picked up another wood canoe, or a shell thereof. Maybe I'll post some pics of that one, to see if we can ballpark a possible manufacturer. This is all I have at the moment;
Kathryn Klos
squirrel whisperer
Don't despair of learning more about the first canoe and also something about the second one... it's paddling weather! And in addition, the Annual Assembly is right around the corner and folks are gearing up for that. So, answers to things posted in Forums tend to come in slowly this time of year.
In the meantime, you might consider purchasing a copy of the Canadian Wood Canoe and Boat Company Catalog Collection (on CD-ROM) from the online store... these canoes might be in there!
http://store.wcha.org/The-Canadian-Wood-Canoe-and-Boat-Company-Catalog-Collection-CD-ROM.html
There's also a very nice book on the Chestnut Company in the online store.
I believe the featured canoe of the 2018 Annual Assembly is scheduled to be Chestnut (with a tribute to Bill Mason). You have a couple nice projects that could be done by then!
Kathy
In the meantime, you might consider purchasing a copy of the Canadian Wood Canoe and Boat Company Catalog Collection (on CD-ROM) from the online store... these canoes might be in there!
http://store.wcha.org/The-Canadian-Wood-Canoe-and-Boat-Company-Catalog-Collection-CD-ROM.html
There's also a very nice book on the Chestnut Company in the online store.
I believe the featured canoe of the 2018 Annual Assembly is scheduled to be Chestnut (with a tribute to Bill Mason). You have a couple nice projects that could be done by then!
Kathy
NaturalPath
Curious about Wooden Canoes
Thanks for that Kathryn.
MGC
Scrapmaker
With these particular canoes your best bet to ID them is to take a tape measure and work down through the significant dimensions one at a time, comparing them to the models listed in the link I previously attached.
The new canoe that you posted is also a Canadian canoe....based upon the appearance of the deck, ribs, seat weave and what appears to be a shoe keel (that blue thing)....to my eye, another Peternut.
Here is another link that you can use for dimensions and models:
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/5725889
The new canoe that you posted is also a Canadian canoe....based upon the appearance of the deck, ribs, seat weave and what appears to be a shoe keel (that blue thing)....to my eye, another Peternut.
Here is another link that you can use for dimensions and models:
http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/5725889
NaturalPath
Curious about Wooden Canoes
Thanks again MGC, this does look like the only way to narrow down the search for model and year. Thanks for the extra resource for checking dimensions on these canoes. Time to get the tape measure out and compare.
MGC
Scrapmaker
Forgive me, I attached the wrong link. This one will give you a more complete range of manufacturers and models without needing to back your way in...
http://www.picturetrail.com/jockogilvy
Yes, the tape will provide the only certainty. The pictures offer up a starting point but not much more. Ultimately we might be able to suggest it's one of these or one of those, but until you measure it you can't truly be sure.
Even then you may not know for sure. I have a Chestnut that I am pretty sure is a Fox, but it might not be....there are a couple measurements that suggest otherwise. Kathy suggested some good reading material and now that you are on your way to owing a fleet of these Peternuts you might want to consider doing some reading about them. Once you understand a bit about how they were built, where, the transitions within the companies etc. you will come to appreciate the challenges of specific identification (for some models).
Absorbing and sharing that information is an extension of this hobby and the one that will cause your friends and colleagues eyes to glaze over as you explain the nuances of rib spacing, hull span and depth measurements and methods etc....
Enjoy..
Mike
NaturalPath
Curious about Wooden Canoes
Thanks so much Mike, for your knowledge, and insight, regarding these two canoes. Again, I just wanted to clarify that these canoes were purchased by my brother, and not me. I started this thread for my brother, since he is still a working stiff, and I am retired, with lots of time to spare. However, having said that, I am a big fan of canoes. I designed and built two of my own back in the day, and I would love to be working on one today but, alas, I now live in an apartment, and I don't have a place to work on a canoe. I still paddle a lot, but I use inflatable kayaks now, since they are much easier to store in my apartment. My brother is reading this thread, when he has the time though, and he also appreciates all the help he is getting here. He will be the one going through all the measurements to try and determine, or see if he can narrow down, the model and year of these canoes. I do not have access to the canoes, since I live hundreds of miles away from my brother. He does come up here, now and again, for paddling trips, so I probably will see, at least one of them, this paddling season.
However, having said that, I am a big fan of canoes. I designed and built two of my own back in the day, and I would love to be working on one today but, alas, I now live in an apartment, and I don't have a place to work on a canoe. I still paddle a lot, but I use inflatable kayaks now, since they are much easier to store in my apartment. My brother is reading this thread, when he has the time though, and he also appreciates all the help he is getting here. He will be the one going through all the measurements to try and determine, or see if he can narrow down, the model and year of these canoes. I do not have access to the canoes, since I live hundreds of miles away from my brother. He does come up here, now and again, for paddling trips, so I probably will see, at least one of them, this paddling season. 
